I managed to get about five steps before I was frozen in time, unable to move my arms or legs. The air around me was filled with sparkling light blue dust, and by the time I realized that I could still breathe, it was too late. I drew a deep breath, my eyes rolling back. The world went black.

My mind was spinning, filled with a blue haze, eyes flickering under eyelids. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I move? My mind frantically tried to answer the questions it was asking itself when all though processes froze. I was being touched by something. Something cool, and tingling.

I felt a hand (I thought it was a hand) brushing against my arm, touching over scars I'd received a few months back when running from Shifters. I began to tremble, unable to open my eyes for fear of what I would see standing above me. The hand moved to my hair and shifted through it. I felt as though I was being examined, though I had no idea what for. A thought struck me. Maybe I'd tripped, and another straggler had found me? Maybe this was another human! The idea of not being alone any more made my heart soar and I let my eyes slip open.

I had to stifle a scream as my gaze met the cool blue gaze of a Shifter. Flailing my arms as best I could in their still-numb state, I tried to get away. It was then I was aware that it was holding me, it's long extended tail helping to keep me locked in it's arms as it examined me. My struggles only caused it to hold onto me tighter. Tears filled my eyes and I began to cry, using all of my strength to push at it, the light blue dust on its chest flying free and settling on my clothes, in my hair, on my face. It tilted it's head, then let go of me all together, dropping me hard to the ground. I let out a small cry of pain as my tailbone hit the hard concrete, but still scrambled as far away from it as I possibly could, hiding myself behind a larger piece of a cement barrier. Only when I thought I was safely hidden did I look around.

The air was filled with the shining blue dust, almost like a million pieces of starlight had fallen from the night sky and filled the city square. It was breathtaking, and yet, I felt I couldn't afford to breathe, unless I wanted to meet an untimely end. The dust had me so enthralled that I didn't notice the Shifter walking towards me, coming to crouch down in front of me. I shrunk myself back in the cement, trying to escape its gaze, which looked at me questioningly. It moved so that it was merely a foot in front of me, it's stare still intent on my own. I closed my eyes and barely dared to breathe, wishing that the poisonous dust would just make it quick and painless.

I kept my eyes closed for what felt like forever, yet there was no final breath. Finally opening them, I was face to face with the Shifter, its face mere inches from mine. I didn't breathe. I didn't blink. It didn't blink. It just kept staring at me. After a few moments, it raised a hand. I flinched and whimpered as it moved to touch my cheek, but I was stunned into silence as it ran a single finger along my skin, almost in a caress. Then, it pressed its forehead directly against mine, closing it's eyes. A thought crossed my mind, though I knew it was not mine.

"Safe..."

My eyes widened and I somehow found my voice for the first time in a while, though it was more of a strained whisper. "W-What..?"

It's eyes opened and it looked directly into mine, and I noticed that there was none of the cold gaze typically indicative of a Shifter. This one was actually...emotional.

Our foreheads still touching, another thought crossed me.

"Hear...me...?"

I stilled for a moment, then, slowly nodded my head. "Yes...I hear you."

The Shifter's eyes lit up, brightening to a cerulean hue. It almost seemed excited. But...this wasn't possible. My mind raced as my eyes searched the creature in front of me. All Shifter's were dangerous, poisonous, and meant to rid the Earth of humanity. How could this be happening? Why hadn't I died from inhaling the dust that was now so obviously emanating off of the Shifter? My heart began to beat faster, my mind raced, and I began to feel like I couldn't breathe. I pulled my forehead away from the Shifter and tucked my knees to my chest, laying my head on it and covering it with my hands, rocking slightly back and forth.

The creature tilted its head to the side, it's mind swimming with my own questions, struggling to find an answer to them. It knew the reason it was meant to come to Earth, though its purpose was different from his siblings. But why this Earth creature was immune to his secretions was unknown to him. So he gave the only answer he knew.

Leaning forward, he laid his forehead against the back of the female's.

"You...are special."

My head snapped up, meaning to look it straight in the eye, but instead ended up smacking the underside of its face. Shocked, it sprawled backwards, skin flaring a bright blue momentarily, tail twitching as if it were irritated. I clutched the back of my head, feeling a small throbbing begin, and winced. The Shifter was slowly getting up, glancing warily at me, unsure about getting near me again.

I sighed. "I'm...sorry. Don't worry, I didn't mean to."

I slid my legs down to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaning backwards against the concrete barrier. The Shifter mimicked me, almost seeming as though it was trying to fit in, as if I was showing it how it should act. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

Uncomfortable, I shifted. "Um...shouldn't you be...like, running off to the nearest city and meeting up with your own kind?"

It looked at me, it's eyes shifting back to the lighter blue I've now taken to mean it's happy..or something. It shook its head, and pressed a fingertip to my forehead.

"Stay. Mission."

My brow furrowed. "Yeah...you see, you can't stay with me. Your kind kill my kind."

It's eyes widened fractionally, more at the thought of not staying with me, which did nothing but confuse me all the more. It pressed a little harder with it's fingertip.

"Protect. Safe. Mission."

I sighed. "We need to get you a bigger vocabulary." Glancing to the side, I rubbed the back of my head.

"Well...what do I call you?"

It looked at me blankly.

"You know, what is your name? What do they call you?"

It's eyes sparked once, as if it understood, and next thing I know, it projects and image into my mind, one of a triangle with two flowers intertwining in the very center, surrounded by two giant explosions behind it that appeared to be fireworks to me. "Um...how do you say that?"

Again came the projections.

I waved it away. "Okay okay..." I thought of the triangle. "How about Tri? That's easy enough."

The creature pondered, then nodded.

"Great, this is just great. I'm talking to a Shifter. As if nothing has happened in the last year. What is wrong with me?" My brain chastised me for my actions, for even allowing myself to remain this close to one of the same creatures that had caused the demise of my civilization. Slowly looking at the creature, I bit my lower lip, unsure of what to do. Its hand had lowered, the connection it apparently had when touching me gone. Should I continue to stay in its presence? Should I run and not look back? The second thought made me pause. It seemed almost...harmless...compared to the others of its kind. I shook my head and tried to clear the haze that was my mind. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why wasn't I dead? By every right I should be. Unless this Shifter was somehow defective. I shrugged, and in a final burst of desperation, my hand jutted out towards it, the first action of my own accord towards the creature that made me fear for my life.

"My name is Kina."

It stared at my outstretched hand, as if it didn't know what to do. Exasperated, I leaned forward further, curling my fingers towards my palm, beckoning its own hand to touch mine. It looked from me, to my hand, then back again, and the glow surrounding it changed slightly, softening. It raised a tentative hand and placed it in mine, closing its slender fingers around my own.

A spark burst from between our palms and I gasped, almost pulling my hand away. The Shifter seemed almost as surprised as I was, both of our eyes fixated on the small ball of light that floated above our hands. It twirled in the air, seeming to dance before settling back over the both of our hands, a warm periwinkle glow flowing over both of our skins, crawling up our arms until it infused both of our bodies. I drew in a quick breath, specks of dust flying in with it, unable to comprehend what was happening. We were both frozen in place, unable to move, to speak – but we could still think.

Suddenly, my mind was bombarded by a blinding white light filled with symbols and a language I didn't understand. I cried out and let go of the Shifter's hand, curling in on myself, holding my hands to either side of my head. It throbbed badly, and my vision was so blurred that I couldn't even make out the blue figure directly in front of me.

I remained still for what seemed like ages, the pounding in my head finally subsiding enough for me to realize that I wasn't the only one affected by whatever had happened. A strange strangling sound was coming out of the Shifter, almost as if it was in as much pain as I had been. I fumbled forward, reaching out with my hand to try and find it. I wasn't sure why I cared, but it tugged at my heartstrings to hear it sounding as torn up as my mind felt.

"Are...are you alright?" My voice wavered slightly as my vision cleared and I saw it was curled into the fetal position, almost tearing at it's smooth forehead with its slender fingers, creating small indentations into its scalp. Tiny white spots appeared on its skin from the pressure, as if it were about to break under the pressure. I leapt forward, tearing it's hands off of its head, holding them tight within my own. Without really knowing what I was doing, I leaned forward quickly and pressed my forehead to the Shifter's. "It's alright...the pain will go away, please don't hurt yourself..."

My eyes closed as I tried to think of the most calming things possible. Soft sunlight, the prettiest sunset, a beach with slow lapping waves. I'm not sure what made me think it could read my thoughts, but I hoped that my own would help calm it.

Slowly the sound began to fade, replaced by the softest whimpering. I opened my eyes, realizing my vision had cleared to normality, and looked at the slightly pitiful creature in front of me. I sighed and laid a hand on its forehead. It leaned into my touch and my eyes widened. I felt helpless, unsure of what to do. This...thing...it was normally an enemy. But this one...Tri, as I'd named it, seemed so different, so...human. Or at least moreso than any other I'd witnessed.

Tri's eyes opened and peered up at me curiously. "Can you still hear me?"

I blinked and without hesitating, thought back. "Yes."

His eyes widened. "Somehow...I can speak your language much more fluently than I could before."

My breath caught in my throat, my hand falling from his forehead and my brain acted of its own accord again. "Wait...you could hear me? You can still hear me? You can hear my thoughts?!"

He nodded. "Yes, that is common in my race. However..." His eyes drifted to my hand, shocked. "...normally it must involve touch of some variety to make the connection needed. We are linked in some way."

I fell back against the concrete barrier, shivering, hugging my shoulders. "Great...I'm connected with a Shifter. Just what I need now. Now I'll never survive this." I mumbled to myself, oblivious to the fact that though our thoughts might be connected, he could still hear me as well. Tri, however, seemed more curious about the terminology. He moved closer to me, sitting back on his heels in a very human motion, his tail-like appendage swishing back and forth behind him. "Shifter?"

I rolled my eyes and glared at him slightly, answering him in my own voice rather than letting him read my thoughts. "Yes, Shifter. That is what you are. You're a Shifter. That's the name we've given your kind. The dust-like stuff you make seems to shift on your skin, thus giving you your name. Unfortunately, it's dangerous to most humans." I looked away from him, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. "It's your kinds' fault that my family is gone, my friends are gone, that most of my kind is gone. You've killed us."

Stunned into silence, Tri lifted up his arm and curiously looked at the small sparkling substance that danced on his skin's surface, brushing it off in a soft motion with his fingers. It swirled in the air and then seemed to evaporate, disappearing from view. His eyes grew sad as he turned to me, turning to a deep blue. "I...do not understand. You have not been harmed, by myself or the vessel I came in. You are safe with me. Why are you distraught?"

My head whipped up to face him, tears brimming in my eyes and threatening to overflow down onto my dirt-smudged cheeks. "Everyone I know and love is gone because of your race! They've all died because of your kind. I. Am. Alone." I punctuated each word harshly, glaring at him.

Tri looked hurt, moving back a pace from me, still kneeling on the ground. "I...I do not understand..."

"Then just go away! Just leave me alone!" I buried my face in my knees, finally letting the tears come with abandon, not caring anymore about where I was, or who I was with. The stress of pressing forward, of barely hanging on, finally had taken its toll and I was emotionally spent. I cried silently until I heard the slight crunch of the gravel and rocks surrounding us and the soft footsteps of Tri walking away from me. As soon as the sound was distant enough, a sob escaped my lungs and I poured my heart out into my dirty jeans, holding myself as tightly as I could for comfort, crying myself into an uncomfortable slumber.